Beetles of North Carolina
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Scientific Name: Common Name:
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View Carabidae Members:
Members of Trechus:
3 NC Records

Trechus pseudobarberi Donabauer, 2009 - No Common Name

Taxonomy
Family: Carabidae Subfamily: Trechinae                                                             
Comments: One of 82 species in this genus that have been recorded in North America north of Mexico, 42 of which occur in North Carolina (Bosquet, 2012). Trechus pseudobarberi belongs to subgenus Microtrechus and was included in the Vandykei Species Group by Donabauer (2009). In addition to pseudobarberi, Bosquet (2012) includes 10 other species in this group, one of which occur the mountains of southwest Virginia and the rest in the North Carolina mountains or on the ridges forming the border between North Carolina and Tennessee.
Species Status: The type locality is Waterrock Knob on the Jackson-Haywood County line in the Plott Balsams (Donabauer, 2009)
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: BugGuide, Wikipedia, GBIF   iNaturalistTechnical Description, Adults/Nymphs: Donabauer (2009)                                                              
Comments: "Body rarely reddish piceous, in most specimens dark piceous, paler on head, along suture and along sides of elytra; elytra shiny with bluish lustre; legs paler, contrasting with body; first segments of antenna pale, segment 3 or 4 and all following darker" (Donabauer, 2009). Members of this genus generaly show too little variation in pattern for standard photographs to be used to identify particular species.
Total Length [body plus wings; excludes ovipositor]: 2.85 - 2.95 mm
Structural Features: As a member of subgenus Microtrechus, only the first segment of front tarsus is enlarged in males. This species is distinguished from other members of its species group morphometrically and by features of the aedeagus (Donabauer, 2009).
Distribution in North Carolina
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥
 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) <
 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)
Click on graph to enlarge
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: The summit of Waterrock Knob is 6,293' and of Cataloochee Balsam is 5,970'. Both support stands of Spruce-fir Forest where this species was found by sifting wet or humid leaf litter (Donabauer, 2009)
See also Habitat Account for Spruce-Fir Forests
Diet: Predatory on small insects and other invertebrates
Observation Methods:
Abundance/Frequency: Donabauer (2009) described this species as the most common species of Trechus at the type locality
Adult Phenology: Not enough information exists for this species to determine its phenology
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status: [SR]
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: [GNR] [S1]
State Protection:
Comments: As a species restricted to just a couple of stands of Spruce-fir Forests located on high elevation ridgetops in the North Carolina mountains, it is probably highly vulnerable to the warming and drying impacts of climate change and to the other factors that are degrading and opening up the canopy of the Spruce-fir Forests upon which it depends for its microclimate.